


Witchcraft

by SolosOrca



Series: Witchcraft [1]
Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: (very late halloween fic), M/M, Male Witches, halloween fic, sorry Fuji.....
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-03
Updated: 2017-11-03
Packaged: 2019-01-28 21:38:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12616100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SolosOrca/pseuds/SolosOrca
Summary: You never know what's lurking in the forest....





	Witchcraft

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so this AU was originally inspired by the Ancient Magnus' Bride and then also a lot of Discworld. I dunno how those two mashed together but they did into this weird little AU. I wanna play about more with it, but we'll see.
> 
> Originally written for the Tenipuri Halloween Zine, which can be found here https://twitter.com/tenipurihzine

The barrier between worlds was in a state of constant flux year round, but it was at its weakest from the end of summer until mid-autumn. At this time, spirits could cross between worlds and, where the barriers were at their weakest, so could creatures. 

Tezuka always told Ryoma that there was no such thing as an evil spirit or creature, that just because they scared people, or did things that inconvenienced or harmed humans, didn’t mean that they were evil. They were acting for themselves, not deliberately out to cause harm.

But Tezuka also thought cats were evil, so Ryoma didn’t necessarily trust his words on the matter.

‘Who’d ever heard of a witch who hated cats?’ Ryoma thought as he rode along the road to one of the local villages.

Tezuka Kunimitsu was a bit of an oddity anyway. He was a male witch - not a wizard, but a witch. Ryoma was a bit vague on the difference and he was sure there were lots of nuances he was missing, but to him a wizard ran around doing flashy spells whilst a witch kept everything in balance.

Not that Ryoma wasn’t an oddity either. He’d been found in the forest Tezuka kept watch over, covered in fairy dust and without any memories besides his name - ‘Ryoma’. Tezuka had taken him in and, when the search for his family had resulted in nothing, started training him as his apprentice.

Right now, Ryoma was heading into Seigaku village - the village closest to the forest in which he and Tezuka lived. The leaves in the trees overhead were dyed a variety of yellows and reds, buffeted around by the breeze as they fell. It wasn’t a particularly nice day - the sky a flat, overcast grey - but, in Ryoma’s mind it could have been worse. Riding through the rain was one of Ryoma’s least favourite things.

The dirt track left the forest boundary, widening as it joined the road, and lead across the fields to the small village nestled in a small valley. Ryoma first went to the Inn, where the post should have been delivered the previous day.

“Good morning, Ryoma,” Kawamura, the innkeeper, greeted him as he pushed open the door.

“Good morning,” Ryoma returned the greeting. “Was there any post for us?”

“None, I’m afraid.”

Ryoma nodded, trying not to show his happiness on his face. All the mail they received was from people asking for advice and Tezuka insisted that all of it should be replied to, no matter how tedious the questions were. Ryoma had been left with the pleasure of replying to them all the last couple of months, as Tezuka had been occupied for the past couple of months in taking care of the forest and the spirits and creatures that were passing between worlds.

“How is Tezuka? It’s a busy time of year right now for him,” Kawamura asked.

“I haven’t seen much of him,” Ryoma replied, “he’s in the forest a lot.”

‘It’ll be over soon’, he added to himself. And then winter would set in and he’d have Tezuka all to himself (hopefully) during the long nights. Hopefully the idiot would make some kind of move on him.

“Tonight’s the last night, right?” 

“Yeah,” Ryoma replied, “All Hallow’s Eve is when the walls at at their weakest and then close tomorrow morning at sunrise.”

He bid farewell to Kawamura and started his rounds. The most important, and time consuming, part of being a witch was doing the things that no one else would do - most of which involved looking after the elderly in the village (either directly or getting other villagers to help). It was all about balance; it had gotten a lot better when, half a year ago, Oishi - a doctor from the city - had moved to Seigaku. Tezuka still made a lot of the medicines, but a large portion of their physical workload had been taken off their shoulder.

That being said, a lot of the elder villages prefered to see the witch rather than the doctor, and there were plenty of things Oishi’s job didn’t cover. The little things that no one thought about but made all the difference. And that was where Tezuka and Ryoma came in.

There were parts of the job that Ryoma did enjoy such as helping Tezuka make medicine, helping animals and - rather morbidly - sitting up with the dead. At least the dead didn’t babble to you about all their problems, they were far beyond that, unlike the living. Ryoma would usually have to spend his entire morning going from house to house, drinking litres of tea and listening to the villagers droning on about their various ails, all the while trying desperately to not fall asleep.

Thankfully, it was an easy day with the toughest job being helping to round up a flock of sheep who had escaped onto the road. No one had died, no one had been born and old Mister Oji’s toenails had been clipped. And no one had been bothered by any errant spirits. 

Ryoma rode back to the forest feeling satisfied. The sun had almost set and the light was low and grainy as the horse plodded along the track. All around, birds were coming to roost and the sounds of nocturnal animals waking filled the air. But one noise was out of place - a small mewing from the ditch at the side of the road.

Ryoma stopped the horse and hopped off. Tezuka had warned him against following strange noises, especially those that sounded cute and helpless. But Tezuka wasn’t with him right now and Ryoma was always too curious for his own good.

His hand went for the knife at his side, ready to defend himself just in case Tezuka’s warning was correct. Carefully, he slid into the ditch and pushed aside the long grass, ready to leap out the way should something leap up at him.

It turned out to be a kitten. Small and covered in thick, slimy mud, mewling helplessly.

Ryoma’s tense body softened and he picked the kitten up, cradling it against his chest. 

“What are you doing here?” Ryoma asked the kitten as he clambered out of the ditch. Tezuka wouldn’t like it, but there was no way Ryoma was going to leave the kitten to die alone in a ditch.

He settled the kitten in one of the saddlebags before mounting the horse again and setting off home.

Tezuka’s cottage was more like a house, sat in a glade within the forest. Plants grew all around it and, in some cases, on it. In the summer, it was covered and surrounded in flowers, but those had all died off in the early autumn frosts. Inside was a tangled mass of rooms, each added on at different times with little thought to practicality and the whole thing remodeled again and again with varying degrees of success. 

Inside was full of odd and mysterious artifacts and plants that wouldn’t survive the cold winter outside. When Ryoma had first come to live there, he had spent hours walking from room to room, examining everything from the drawers of crystals and row upon row of bottles of dried herbs, to a burnished thread of metal twisted into the shape of a crown that had given Ryoma a nasty burn when he touched it. 

Since he couldn’t remember anything at all, his favourite room quickly became the library with its thick, leather bound books offering Ryoma a chance to gain something, even if it wasn’t been exactly what he’d initially lost. 

Ryoma went straight to the kitchen and put the kitten in the sink. Whilst Tezuka was usually against using magic for mundane household tasks, he had become so annoyed with having to heat water on the fire that he’d spent days creating a way to magic up running hot water. 

The kitten didn’t enjoy the bath and yowled all the way through whilst trying to claw and bite at Ryoma, but he persevered. The mud came off easily, revealing cream fur with dark brown points. 

“You’re quite cute, aren’t you?” Ryoma asked it as he rubbed it dry with an old towel.

The kitten was much happier after he’d been cleaned up, fed some leftover fish scraps and had found a warm spot in front of the fire. He had no idea that the owner of the cottage was most likely going to kick him out. Or try to - Ryoma planned to put up a fight.

He spent the rest of the day combing the library looking for a spell that might help him change Tezuka’s mind. He’d definitely seen it somewhere, but he couldn’t remember which book it had been in and, as cocky as he usually was, he didn’t want to perform magic he didn’t know perfectly on a living creature. He finally found it just as he heard the front door open.

It had to be Tezuka. No one in their right mind would break into a witch’s cottage. Ryoma trotted out of the library and back to the kitchen where he found Tezuka sat at the table, eating. Where he’d got the food from, Ryoma had no idea - he’d just gotten in!

“How’s the forest?” Ryoma asked, stealing a tomato from Tezuka’s plate.

Tezuka, his mouth full of ham, gave Ryoma a ‘don’t ask me questions whilst I’m eating’ look and finished chewing before replying. “It’s very busy out there.”

“The same as usual then,” Ryoma grinned. He pause, steeling himself. “I found a cat by the side of the road.”

Tezuka turned a sharp look on him. “And you brought it home?” he asked calmly and Ryoma’s heart started to sink.

“It’s just a cat!”

“Ryoma,” Tezuka said sternly. “It could be anything.”

Ryoma glared at him and stalked out, grabbing the kitten in the other room and putting him in front of Tezuka on the kitchen table. “I’m not an idiot. I can tell a cat from an evil spirit,” he grumbled, feeling rather insulted. He wasn’t some naive child that Tezuka constantly needed to protect, and being treated as such made his hackles raise. 

Tezuka looked pointedly at the kitten, who staired innocently back and mewled. “It’s just a cat,” he confirmed.

“See,” Ryoma said smugly, “I’m not an idiot.”

“In that case, you can find a new home for it tomorrow,” Tezuka said, getting to his feet. “I will not have a cat in the house.”

“Witches are supposed to have cats,” Ryoma snapped. 

“I will not live with an animal that plays with its food and kills unnecessarily.”

“I found a spell. One that can stop him killing,” Ryoma said confidently, “I can do it.”

“You’re far too young to be playing with influences,” Tezuka replied in a tone that suggested that the conversation was over and Ryoma bristled.

“I can!” He insisted. He opened his mouth to say more, to convince Tezuka that the kitten could stay with them, but Tezuka cut him off.

“We’ll discuss this in the morning,” he said curtly. “Something has appeared in the forest,” and his dark tone sent shivers down Ryoma’s spine, the kitten suddenly forgotten.

“What?” Ryoma asked.

“It’s not good,” Tezuka replied, “I have to go.”

Ryoma followed him to the door, not missing Tezuka picking up the sword that was hung on a nearby hook. That was very unusual - he’d never seen Tezuka with a weapon before, since nothing in the forest was stupid enough to attack him.

“Don’t leave the house,” Tezuka said, putting on his tall, pointy hat. “And don’t perform any magic on that cat.”

“Fine,” Ryoma promised.

He watched Tezuka walk into the dark forest until he was out of sight, an uncomfortable feeling blooming in the pit of his stomach. It had to be bad if Tezuka had taken a sword.

The kitten was still on the kitchen table when Ryoma returned, eating the scraps of ham from Tezuka’s plate.

“Come on you,” Ryoma said, picking the kitten up and rubbing his head. 

He and the kitten holed up in the sitting room by the fire. It was a good thing that Tezuka was a bookworm, otherwise Ryoma’s evenings would be very boring without something to read. The kitten, who Ryoma had decided to call Karupin, had curled up in his lap, purring as Ryoma absentmindedly stroked him.

The hairs on the back of his neck kept prickling, as though someone was watching them and Ryoma kept getting up to look out the window into the thick darkness. He knew that there was plenty of things out there, things that would do a lot of damage to him should he annoy them. But none of them were scary enough to make Tezuka take a sword. 

It was getting later and later and Ryoma was feeling exhausted, but the worry at the back of his head kept him from going to bed. Tezuka might need him when he returned, that thought kept him awake, that and the prickling sensation on the back of his neck. He made himself keep reading, otherwise he’d be pacing back and forth all night and that was no good for anyone. 

He glanced up from his book at the window and caught a flash of movement moving away from the glass. 

His blood ran ice cold. 

Carefully, he put the sleeping kitten to one side and sprinted to the kitchen to grab a knife. His hand closed around the handle, just as the front door crashed open. He turned and came face to face with the intruder. He was shocked to see that they looked human, only slightly taller than Ryoma himself with short, light brown hair and piercing blue eyes. His knife dropped a fraction of an inch, the intruder smiled and then leaped and Ryoma’s world went black.

* * *

Ryoma awoke who-knew-how-long later when he received a stinging blow across the cheek. He grimaced and opened his eyes, finding himself tied to a tree in the middle of a clearing in the forest. He tried to move, but the knots holding him in place were tight, the rope cutting into his skin.

“You’re awake,” the attacker said pleasantly. It couldn’t possibly be a question as he’s been the one to wake Ryoma.

“What do you want?” Ryoma asked, cutting straight to the point.

“Just to play,” the other man was very close now and cupped Ryoma’s jaw, forcing him to look into his eyes. They were beautiful, but drove a spike of terror into Ryoma’s heart at the intensity in them, almost fanatical. The man’s hand was cold against Ryoma’s warm skin and suddenly squeezed. Hard.

Ryoma was sure his jaw was going to break, but the man seemed to be holding back, enjoying Ryoma’s cries and struggles. Something howled in the depths of the forest and the man turned in its direction, his eyes narrowing. Ryoma caught a glimpse of the man’s ears, the tips long and pointed and put two and two together. 

Whoever this was, they weren’t human. 

Ryoma decided that identifying what they were was pointless, not when he could use his brain to think of a way out of the rope. Whilst his attacker was distracted, he cast his mind around the clearing, trying to find anything that could help. There was the tree he was tied to, but Ryoma’s mind was too clouded with terror and panic to get a good grasp on it. Even if he could, his options were limited. The tree was dying back, preparing for winter, with little reason to listen to Ryoma’s encouragements to grow. Not only that, the growth was more likely to hurt Ryoma than the ropes.

_ Tezuka! _ He called out, praying that Tezuka was close enough to hear it and wishing he’d practiced projecting his voice more.

A knife stabbed his arm, bringing him back to the clearing and he screamed. The pain was intense, not just around the wound, but creeping up his arm, like his veins were on fire. He looked down and saw a beautiful blade being pulled from his arm with a pearlescent handle. His attacked looked at the blood staining the blade and then licked it. 

“Sweet,” he murmured and then smiled as he slashed at Ryoma’s other arm, cutting through his sleeve and shallowly into his skin. Ryoma bit back on the scream, not wanting to give his attacker the satisfaction. Tears were springing to his eyes as the burning pain spread from every cut the other man was slicing into him. 

“Cry out, you know you want to,” the attacker said soothingly. “Let me hear your screams.”

“No!” Ryoma snapped back and headbutted the attacker.

He staggered back, touching the place Ryoma’s head had hit him and smiling. “So you do have some fight in you. Just what I’d expect from a witch’s toy. Let’s play a game, shall we?”

Ryoma glared furiously at him, hoping not to give away any of the pain and or fear he was feeling. The attacker shoved the blade into Ryoma’s thigh, relishing the cry that escaped from Ryoma’s lips, and pulled it out before cutting the ropes.

“You’ve got a minute,” The attacker said, “if you get back to your house before then I’ll let you go free.”

“You’re sick,” Ryoma spat before hobbling away as fast as he could.

Every inch of him hurt and he couldn’t move at more that a slow walk and he had no idea where he was. Every card in the deck was stacked against him. He had no idea what would happen if he lost, but it would no doubt involve pain.

He reached out with his mind again, feeling all the living creatures around him. It was incredibly difficult to focus on it whilst his moving and in such pain, but it was the only way he could save himself.

Tezuka had to be out here somewhere and Ryoma searched frantically for the comforting ball of life. 

_ Where are you? _ He thought, tears welling up in his eyes again. His foot caught on a bramble and he fell face first onto the ground, his mind coming back to his present position. His minute was no doubt up by now and he scrambled to his feet, whimpering at the pain in his arms and legs. 

He heard footsteps approaching and tried to speed up, but his stabbed leg was having none of it, screaming in protest every time Ryoma tried to move it.

“Found you,” a sing-song voice chimed, and cold dread slid into Ryoma’s heard like a knife.

Immediately, Ryoma was pushed to the ground, his protesting arms pulled behind his back and almost out of their joints. 

“You didn’t give me much of a chase,” the attacker said, sounding very disappointed. 

“Then you shouldn’t have stabbed me in the leg!” Ryoma shot back before crying out in pain when a finger was jabbed into one of the wounds in his arm.

“What should I do with you? You lost our little game after all.”

“You’ll let him go, elf” a voice in the shadows said. Ryoma looked up and saw Tezuka walking towards them, sword drawn.

“I will, will I?” the elf sneered. “Who are you to command me, witch?”

A gust of wind blew through the forest, making the trees around them creak and moan. It picked off Tezuka’s hat, blowing it into the darkness. The pressure on Ryoma’s arms lessened slightly and then disappeared altogether as the elf got off his back and backed away.

“You? But you’re-” the elf started but trailed off at the power emanating from Tezuka.

Ryoma had never seen him like this before. Tezuka had always come across as controlled and bookish, now he had the confidence and grace of a king in his court.

Ryoma took the opportunity to crawl out of the firing line. Tezuka was going to be doing something and he didn’t want to get in the way of it.

The wind was now howling through the trees and the elf was frozen in one spot, looking at Tezuka with horrified awe. Magic crackled off the tip of Tezuka’s sword and the tips of his hair which was growing out and now framed his face like a lion’s mane and he held the elf in his frighteningly cool gaze. The wind whipped at his hair, drawing it back and revealing two pointed ears. His face was changing too, growing sharper and more ethereal.

A metallic whirring sound was getting closer and closer until Tezuka lifted a hand into the air and caught the golden crown from the library. He placed it on his head. It fit perfectly. 

Ryoma watched with a mix of awe and fear as Tezuka stepped towards the elf, cloak and hair billowing in the wind. 

“On your knees,” Tezuka commanded. The elf, unable to disobey that voice, complied, unable to understand what was happening.

Tezuka reached out a hand and covered the elf’s brow, thumb and little finger on each of his temples.

“The sun is almost up, elf,” Tezuka said, “so I will give you a choice. You will live amongst the humans for a year, you will cause no harm to anything and you will only eat what can be grown on plants. A year from today, when the barrier to your world is open, you will choose. Either go back and never return or stay in this world and never return to your own kind. Choose that or I will kill you here and now.”

It was a curse - Ryoma recognised that much - but it was a much kinder curse than he would have used on the elf. What was Tezuka doing? And, just what was Tezuka?

Tezuka squeezed the elf’s head, he fell unconscious and Tezuka tossed him to one side. He turned to Ryoma and Ryoma flinched at the cold, commanding look in his eyes, nothing like the warm Tezuka he was used to.

He tried to shuffle away, but backed up into a tree trunk. What if Tezuka didn’t recognise him? He couldn’t stand being hurt by him. Not Tezuka.

Tezuka was advancing towards him and Ryoma shut his eyes, curling up and whimpering as a stray branch prodded at his wounds. A cold, but gentle hand cupped his chin, a thumb stroking his cheekbone.

“Ryoma,” Tezuka said softly as Ryoma opened his eyes again and relief flooded through him when he saw the tender look in Tezuka’s eyes. 

It was over. He was safe!

Tezuka kissed him.

 

* * *

The sun rose over the treetops, an everyday magic that cleansed the events of the long night before. It found Ryoma lying in bed, bandaged up and Tezuka sleeping on his chest. Ryoma had fallen asleep not long after being brought back to the cottage and Tezuka had tended to him until he was satisfied he had done everything he could. If you looked closely, you could see the small pinpricks on Tezuka’s hands where he’d lost concentration whilst removing Ryoma’s pain and it had backfired on him.

Ryoma awoke not long after and looked around, making sure he was safe. He saw Tezuka asleep by his side, his head resting on Ryoma’s chest and smiled, threading a hand into his hair - still much longer than before. He carefully moved it aside to see his ear, now a normal, human shape.

He had lots of questions, but they could wait.

Tezuka stirred and looked up at him, a small, soft smile twitching onto his lips and Ryoma smiled back.

“You can keep the cat,” Tezuka said by way of a greeting, motioning to Ryoma’s side where Karupin was curled up, asleep. “He wouldn’t leave your side.”

“Is that all it takes to change your mind on cats?” Ryoma asked, laughing and making his ribs hurt.

“Just him,” Tezuka replied. “Do you remember what happened last night?”

“Most of it,” Ryoma replied.

“You’ll have to fill me in. Everything from finding you with that elf to bringing you here is a bit of a blur.”

He obviously didn’t remember kissing him. This conversation would be much more awkward otherwise. Still, Ryoma found that something like that meant nothing in the grand scheme of things. There was still plenty of time for more kisses, kisses where they were both in their right minds.

Outside, the sun continued to rise. There were questions to be asked and answers to be given and an elf staggering around the forest to deal with. But for now, being together was enough.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
